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San Antonio’s unemployed lose $300 in federal payments

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Roughly 1.8 million jobless Texans will take a $300 hit in their weekly unemployment benefits as extra federal money runs out this week.The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Lost Wages Assistance program ended Sep. 5.Most of the 21,100 San Antonio area residents currently claiming unemployment insurance got the extra $300, according to James Bernsen, a spokesman for the Texas Workforce Commission. The temporary program lasted six weeks after $600 federal unemployment payments under the CARES act ended July 25.More for you“There are a lot of people hurting, and these payments are a huge help for these folks,” said Steven Nivin, economics professor at St. Mary’s University. “Not only that, they really help the economy’s overall recovery.”As the pandemic-induced recession slogs on, the San Antonio area has a 6.9 percent unemployment rate and a fragile economy. Cutting these payments, which boost consumer spending, could stall out or worsen the economy, said Nivin.On ExpressNews.com:“I don’t know how not making the payments helps with anything besides the deficit,” he said.Those receiving at least $100 in state unemployment benefits qualified for the FEMA money and should’ve received the payments automatically, Bernsen said. State unemployment payments will continue despite the loss of the extra federal funds.The average state unemployment payout is $350 per week, according to Bernsen. For the self-employed or those who aren’t qualified for state benefits, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program provides $200 a week.The state average, $350 a week, is nearly half the median weekly income of $695 for the San Antonio area, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.A breakdown of key state and local races and candidates in the May 24 primary runoff.With the loss of the federal money, the average unemployment recipient saw their payments slashed 66 percent over the last month and a half.On ExpressNews.com:The cut in payments is “not good news for those affected,” said Thomas Tunstall, senior research director at the University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute for Economic Development. This “will also place an unnecessary burden on vulnerable populations if for no other reason than the U.S. House and Senate could not come to terms.”Texas and Arizona were the first states to apply for the FEMA effort.“Delivering the lost wages assistance program to the American people was made possible through a partnership between FEMA, the Department of Labor and the Department of Treasury,” a FEMA spokesperson said in an e-mail. “To date, $30 billion has been distributed to the 48 states, Guam and the District of Columbia.”Brandon Lingle writes for the Express-News through , a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. To read more from Brandon, . | Twitter:A breakdown of key state and local races and candidates in the May 24 primary runoff.

Roughly 1.8 million jobless Texans will take a $300 hit in their weekly unemployment benefits as extra federal money runs out this week.The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Lost Wages Assistance program ended Sep. 5.Most of the 21,100 San Antonio area residents currently claiming unemployment insurance got the extra $300, according to James Bernsen, a spokesman for the Texas Workforce Commission. The temporary program lasted six weeks after $600 federal unemployment payments under the CARES act ended July 25.More for you“There are a lot of people hurting, and these payments are a huge...

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Brandon Lingle

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San Antonio’s unemployed lose $300 in federal payments

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